Barber&#39;s chair.



W. F. KOKEN.

BARBERS CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED 2. I I 1,242,110. m' 9" Patented M2191?.

* 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. F. KOKEN.

BARBERS CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED MMI. I2. |915.

1,242.1 10. Patented Oct. 2, .1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

j Mara/s MMM WED STARS PATENT CFFXQEE.

WALTER F. KOKEN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO KOKEN BARBER/S SUPPLY COMPANY, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A -CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

IBARBERS CHAIR.

maarre.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1917'.

Application filed March 12, 1915. Serial No. 14,044.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known `that I, WALTER F. KOKEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Barbers Chairs, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, suchI as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to adjustable chairs of the type that are used by barbers, dentists and other specialists, and which comprise a vertically adjustable seat that can be vertically raised and lowered. y

The main object of my present invention is to provide an electrically operated chair that embodies all of the good features and characteristics of the chair that forms lthe subject-matter ofmy co-pending application for improvements in barbers chairs, filed March 12, 1915, Serial #14,043, but which is of slightly different construction, the chair herein shown being provided with an electric motor that is mounted on the base of the chair instead of on the revoluble seat frame. Another object is to provide a barbers chair that comprises a locking device of simple construction and novel design for holding the seat frame against rotary movement. And still another object is to provide an electrically-operated chair, in which the switch that controls the electric current and the conducting elements that are Larranged between the switch and the electric motor are of novel construction. Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out. c Figure l of the drawings is a vertical sectional view of a harbers chair that is constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. 1

Fi 3 -is a vertical sectional view takenon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fi 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.-

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the stem of the chair.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the pole-changing switch taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1; and i Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic View, illustrating the electrical connections between the polechanging switch and the motor.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A

designates the standard or pedestal' of the rotatably mounted on the stem. B, and an electrically-operated mechanism, hereinafter described, is provided for rotating the operating screw 2 in one direction so as to raise the seat frame and for rotating said screw the opposite direction so as to lower the seat frame. end with a reduced portion 4 that forms a bearing on which the'member C of the seat frame revolves, and a thrust bearing 5 is arranged between the member C and a horizontally-disposed bearing surface 6 at the upper end of the stem B, so as to reduce the friction between the revoluble member C and the stem B which sustains the weight or load on the seat frame of the chair. lThe Weight or load on the stem B/is sustained or carried by the operating screw 2, and in order to insure a vfree movement of said operating screw, I arrange a thrust bearing 7 bel tween the bearing 3 on the base and a gear on the screw 2 that forms part of the mechanis'm for actuating said screw. The stem B is prevented from rotating relatively to the standard A by means of one or more devicesv 8 on'said stem, preferably rollers, mounted on horizontally-disposed pins and bearing against the vertical side walls of a pocket 9 on the standard A, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. f

The means for actuating the screw 2 consists of an electric motor D carried by the base and arranged inside of same, a worm 10 connected to the'shaft of theI motor and a worm gear 11 meshing with said worm and securely connected to the lower end of the operatlng screw 2 in such a manner that the lower end of the hub of said gear bears upon the thrust'bearing 7. The motor D is prefw The stem B is provided at its upper erably suspended from the top wall of the hollow base of the chair and a bracket 12 provided with a bearing 13 is also connected to the top wall of the base so as to securely support the worm 10, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. l/Vhen the motor D turns in one direction the operating screw 2 will cause the seat frame of the chair to move upwardly and when the motor turns in the opposite direction said operating screw will cause the seat frame to move downwardly, thus providing an electrically-driven mechanism for raising the seat of the chair positively, both upwardly and downwardly, and enabling the seat to be stopped at any point intermediate its highest and lowest positions, by simply stopping the motor D. The standard A of the chair snugly embraces the stem B, and consequently, prevents the operating screw from being subjected to side thrusts or strains. 1f desired, a cap screw 14 can be arranged at the upper end of the stem B` so as to lap over the member C, as shown in Fig. 1, and thus prevent the seat frame from moving vertically with relation to the stem B of the chair.

The chair is provided with a reclining back and an adjustable apron, which have not been illustrated, as they form no part of my present invention, said reclining back and apron being held in adjusted position by means of a reclining bar 15 that passes between clamping plates 16 which are preferably of similar design to the clamp` illustrated in U. S. Patent #954,524 granted to E. E. Koken, dated April 12, 1910. Said clamping plates 16 are rendered inoperative so, as to release the reclining bar 15 by means of a horizontally-disposed rock shaft 17 that is mounted in the member C and which is provided at /its outer end with a handle or lever E. When said handle E is moved in one direction away from its normal neutral position the reclining bar 15 will be released, thereby enablin the back and apron of the chair to be adjusted, andv when said handle E is moved in the opposite direction away from its normal neutral position a locking device that prevents the seat of the chair from rotating will be rendered inoperative. 'llhe locking device of the chair herein shown, which holds the seat frame y' of the chair against rotary movement, is of novel design and consists of a cam 18 on the rock shaft 17 that bears.

Such a locking device is ellicient, it is housed inside of the member C on the seat frame, it is inexpensive to manufacture and it is of. such simple construction that it is not apt to get out of order when the chair is in use.

r1`he electric current that energizes the motor D is controlled by a 'pole-changing switch, which is preferably arranged in the handle E so as to enable all of the adjustments or movements of the chair to be controlled easily from a single point by one hand of the operator in charge of the chair. The conductors vof the supply circuit lead to binding posts on the standard A of the chair, which are provided with contacts that bear against vertically-disposed conductor bars that move vertically withI the stem B of the chair. Each of said conductor bars is provided at its upper end with a brush which contacts with a separate collector ring carried by the member C on the seat frame ofthe chair, and flexible conductors lead from said collector rings to the switch in the handle E. Flexible conductors also lead from the'motor D to brushes that coperate with collector rings which are connected by means of flexible conductors to the switch in the handle E, so as to enable the motor to be reversed and thus utilize a single motor for rotating the operating screw 2 in opposite directions. r1`he chair is preferably so designed that the supply of electric current which energizes the motor D will be cut off automatically when the seat frame of the chair reaches its upper and lower limits of movement, by means of current-interrupting insulators on the vertically-disposed conductor bars on the stem of the chair. In order that the motor may be started without first shifting' the position ofthe current-interrupting insulator that causes the current to be cut off automatically, I have split one side of the supply circuit into two parts, each of which cooperates with a separate set of conductor bars, brushes and collector rings, and have arranged the current-interrupting insulators in such a manner that the supply circuit can be closed after the seat of the .chair has been stopped automatically by the action of one of said insulators, by simply actuating the pole-changing switch in the handle E. 'i

The positive side of the supply circuit leads to the armature of the motor D and is connected by means of a flexible conductor 27 to a binding post 28 that is mounted in the front wall ofthe pocket 9 on the standard A adjacent the upper end of said standard, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The nega/- tive side of the supply circuit is split and is connected by means of two flexible con-` ductors 30 and 3()a with two binding posts 31 and 31a arranged adjacent the binding post 28. Said binding posts 28, 31 and 31a are provided with contacts that bear upon vertically-disposed conductor bars 32, 33 and 33a, respectively, which are carried by the stem B, said conductor bars being provided at their upper ends with laterally projecting arms 20 that carry brushes 34, 35 and 35a which press against collector rings 36, 37, and 37EL that are embedded in an insulating member 22 which is connected tothe member C on the seat frame, said collector rings' being arranged in a horizontal plane above the brushes 34, 35 and A 35a, so that they will bear upon said brushes at all times, irrespective of the position of the revoluble seat frame. The collector ring 36 on the positive side of the supply circuit is connected by means of a ieXible conductor 39 to the pole-changing switch in the handle E, and the two collector rings 37 and 37a on the negative side of the supply circuit are connected by meansof flexible conductors 40 and 40a, respectively, to said switch. The laterally-projecting portions 20 at the upper ends of the conductor bars and the brushes mounted on said laterallyprojecting portions are protected by a housing 41 that depends from the insulating member 22 in which the collector rings are embedded. The opposite ends of the field of the motory D are connected by means of eXible conductors 49 and 49a to brushes v23 and 23a which coperate with collector rings 24 and 24a that are connected by means of flexible' conductors v25 and 25a, respectively, to the switch in the handle E.

The pole-changing switch in' the handle are connected to the contacts 43 and'43*1,

respectively, of said switch. Said switch comprises four stationary contacts designated by the reference characters 45, 46, 47 and 48, which are so arranged with relation to the movable member F of the switch that the positive contact 44 and the negative contact 43 on said member F will engage the stationary contacts 48 and 47, respectlvely, when said member F is in one position and the positive contact 44 and negative contact 43a on said member F will engage the stationarycontacts 45 and 46, respectively, when said member F is -in its other position. The conductor 25 that forms a continuation of the conductor 49 which leads from one end of the field of the motor D is connected to .the stationary contacts 46 and 48 of the switch, and the conductor 25a that forms a continuation of the conductor 49a which leads from the other end of said field is connected to the stationary contacts 45 and 47 of said switch, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 12. The stationary contacts 45, 46, 47 and 48 are carried by a stationary supporting member G, on which the movable member F is pivotally mounted in such a manner that the contacts on said movable member will be out of engagement with said stationary contacts when the movable member F is in its neutral position, as shown in Fig. 7. The supporting member G of the switch is arranged inside of ahousing 50 at the upper end of the handle E, and the movable member F is provided with two operating buttons 51 and 5la that are arranged on opposite sides vof the axis of oscillation of the member F and which project upwardly through openings in the top wall of said housing. Coiled springs 52 that surround said operating buttons and whlch are arranged between the top wall of the housing 50 and the portion Uot the member F that carries said buttons operate to hold the member F normally in its neutral position. When the button 51 is depressed the motor D will operate in the direction to cause the operating screw 2 to move the seat frame of the chair upwardly, the'seat frame coming to rest as soon as the operator releases Said button. If it is desired to lower the seat of the chair the operator depresses the button 51a, thereby causing the motor D to rotate in the opposite direction and cause the operating screw 2 to move the seat frame downwardly,l the seat coming to rest as `Soon as the operator releases the" button 51a. From the foregoing it will be seen that the seat frame will start to move as soon as one or the other of the buttons is depressed and that the seat will come to restas soon as said button is released. Means are provided for automatically cutting ott' the supply of current that energizes the motor D when the seat of the chair reaches its highest or lowest position, in case the person in charge of the chair fails to release the controlling button after the seat has reached its exi treme limit vof movement in either direction. The means herein shown for accomplishing this consists of a current-interrupting insulator 53 arranged at the .lower end of the conductor bar '33 and a slmilar insulator 53a arranged at the upper end of the conductor bar 33a. 'When the contact that vbears 4upon `the conductor bar 33 strikes the insulator 53, during the upward movement of the seat, the circuit that energizes the motor D will be opened automatically, and thus cause the motor and operating screw to come to rest. One branch of the negative side of the supply circuit is broken or out of service when the contact that coperates with the conductor bar 33 is in engagement with the current-interrupting insulator 53, but the other branch of the negative side of the supply circuit is in operative condition, owing to the fact that the contact that cooperates with the conductor bar 33a is then in engagement with said bar. Consequently, when the operator depresses the button 51a the circuit that energizes the motor D will be closed and the seat frame will start to move downwardly. When the seat frame reaches its lower limit of movement the contact that cooperates with the conductor bar 33a will engage the currentinterrupting insulator 53a, and thus automatically break or open the supply circuit.

An electrically-operated chair of the conn struction above described embodies all of the good features and characteristics of the chair that forms the subject-matter of my co-pending application filed March 12, 1915, Serial #14,043, namely, positive upward and downward movement of the seat, accurate adjustment of the seat and the ability to control all of the adjustments of the chair from a single point. It also embodies a locking device of simple construction and novel design for holding the seat frame against rotary movement and it comprises novel means for establishing electrical connection between the switch which is mounted on the revoluble seat frame of the chair and the motor which ismounted on the base of the chair. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A chair, comprising a base provided with a vertically-disposed, tubular-shaped standard, a vertically-adjustable stem arranged inside of said standard and provided with a part that has a screw-threaded opening, a vertically-disposed operating screw journaled in a stationary bearing on the base and projecting upwardly through said screw-threaded opening, a pocket on said standard, rollers on said stem that cooperate with the side walls of said pocket to prevent the stem from turning, 'an electrically-operated mechanism for rotating said screw in opposite directions so as to positively raise and lower the seat frame of the chair, and conductor bars arranged in said pocket.

2. A barbers chair provided with a Vertically adjustable stem, alseat frame revolubly mounted on said stem, a horizontallydisposed rock shaft carried by said seat frame and extending transversely across the upper end of said stem, and a cam on said shaft that is adapted to be forced into engagement with the top of said stem so as to hold the seat frame against rotary movement.

3. A barbers chair provided with a vertically adjustable stem, a seat frame revolubly mounted on said stem, a reclining barclamping mechanism, a horizontally-disposed manually-operated rock shaft on the seat frame that controls said clamping mechanism, and a cam on said shaft that is t adapted to be forced into engagement with the top of said stem so as to hold the seat frame against rotary movement.

4. A barbers chair provided with a vertically adjustable stem, a seat frame provided with a member that is revolubly mounted on said stem, a horizontally-disposed rock shaft journaled in said member at a point above the upper end of said stem, and a cam on said shaft that is adapted to engage the top of the stem when said shaft is turned in one direction so as to lock the seat frame against rotary movement.

In testimony whereof l hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 8th day of March, 1915.

WALTER F. KOKEN.

Witnesses EDGAR W. Mnms, LEWIS E. MOORE. 

